


Through the Years

by TheOfficialKai517



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, ML Secret Santa, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28161111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOfficialKai517/pseuds/TheOfficialKai517
Summary: Some brief scenes in different times of Chat Noir's life.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg
Kudos: 9





	1. i. Young Teen

**Author's Note:**

> I got to be a part of the Miraculous Secret Santa exchange over on Tumblr this year! I had fun with this, though trying to monitor my word count was a bit of a struggle. Even then, at this point, I only have 1000 or so of 1500 needed words written. So, here's hoping I can finish this soon.

Her name always came before his. Ladybug and Chat Noir, or even sometimes just Ladybug. Not that he could blame anyone, really. She was strong, confident, beautiful, while he was just her bumbling sidekick.

While he couldn't necessarily blame anyone, he _did_ often feel rather left out, forgotten. Looked over.

And that was _before_ digging into his personal life.

Yep. Chat Noir had a complicated life, and complicated feelings. Things he tended to bottle up and keep hidden deep inside, not wanting them to come to the surface. _Ever._

A hero of Paris? Asking for attention? Wanting love and affection, like any other human being? _Preposterous._

No. It was better, always better, to keep things like that hidden.

* * *

"You didn't join me on patrol last night."

Her tone wasn't stern; it rarely ever was with him. But it also wasn't something that was full of concern and worry.

As Ladybug took her seat next to him, Chat Noir looked away. "You noticed."

"Of course I noticed," she said softly, frowning, "why wouldn't I?"

A million responses rushed through his head, all of them rather self-deprecating. Instead of just saying one right out, he decided to think for a second before responding.

"No reason."

"Uh-huh. Right."

"I'm telling the truth," he said petulantly before adding, "look, I'm sorry I ditched you. I had... Quite a bit to do at home."

The last words struck a bit of a chord with Ladybug. She kept on forgetting that, like her, he had a life as a civilian. A home, family, and friends.

"Besides," he added as an afterthought, a smirk making its way across his face, "I'd never purposefully skip out on time spent with you, milady."

She sighed, going to smack his shoulder. "Why, you little..."

Chat Noir laughed before looking over at Ladybug.

It really was no wonder that Paris had gone crazy over _her._ It had only been a year, but he knew her enough to be able to tell just what she would do in order to protect the city... What all she had already done.

There was no way for them to know who he was or what he stood for, not without _her._ He never took the lead; he couldn't. He didn't know much about being assertive and open-minded, as creative and determined as she was. Not under the guise of Chat, anyways. And not always as Adrien, either.

It was quiet for a few moments, both of the heroes lost in their own thoughts as the city life continued on far below them.

"What's on your mind tonight?" he finally asked, deciding to break the silence.

Ladybug blinked, looking over at him. She looked like she was contemplating the answer before opening her mouth to respond.

"Earlier today."

He raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

She laughed softly at the expression on his face. "Your idea to quote the movie the akuma victim put Paris into, acting along until he was dead certain he'd gotten us? And _then_ striking? Genius!"

"You really think so?"

"I know so," she confirmed, "we saved the day with it, didn't we?"

"We did."

He looked at her again, a little surprised by just how much his mood had lifted already, just by talking to her. She had that effect on people, especially him.

He smiled a little before looking back down at the city far below. Maybe being _her_ sidekick wasn't all that bad...

Not all the time.


	2. ii. Older Teen

He ran into the alleyway, already preparing to detransform. They'd seen battles before, but this was a first. This was _intense._ And they were losing, miserably.

Even with every single one of their allies on their side, fighting alongside them... Paris was in shambles. Nothing was going right for them, the enemy knew too much. They understood the powers belonging to each hero and knew how to combat them... It was a losing battle. He might as well give up while he still had dignity... And his life.

"Chat?"

He groaned when he heard her voice, automatically going to transform back into his alter ego before she could find him as Adrien.

Just in the nick of time, too, because that's when Ladybug came around the corner, followed by Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee.

"What are you doing back here?" Ladybug asked, addressing it head-on, "we need you out there!"

"We're getting creamed," he insisted, "this... This isn't the time to fight. It's the time to step back and realize that maybe we're allowed to surrender."

"What's gotten into you?" Rena piped up, moving to his side, "just thirty minutes ago, you were all gung-ho, rally the troops..."

"That's before I realized what an impossible task we were given," he muttered, "and... And what's it all for?! We defeat one villain, and the next gets shoved at us, and then the next one after that..."

"Chat..." Ladybug tried.

"No! I... Doesn't it ever bore you? The same thing over and over for years on end?"

"What makes you say that?" she asked softly, raising an eyebrow, "you've never talked like that before..."

"Doesn't mean I haven't thought it."

She frowned deeply, but he didn't budge. This had all been going on for far too long, years too long. Different variations of the same thing for however many years had passed... All he'd wanted was a normal life, but the "Normal" that came with Chat Noir wasn't good enough.

Not anymore.

Rena moved closer to him. "Chat..."

"No!" he exclaimed, backing away, "just... Give me some space. Please."

And without another word, he ran off.

* * *

"What was _that_ about?" Plagg asked when he'd detransformed yet again, "running off and leaving them on their own?"

"They'll manage without me. They always do."

"You're not the first one to say something like that."

Adrien frowned. "Great. So now I'm like every other Chat Noir in the past millennia. Thanks, Plagg, that really helped."

"That's not what I'm trying to say," the kwami interjected, "what I mean is... I've seen it all. And I've learned, every time, that it's kind of stupid. Every Ladybug needs her Chat Noir, whether he realizes it or not."

Adrien blinked at the rather insightful words from his small companion and friend. "Huh..."

Plagg chuckled. "Didn't think of it that way, huh?"

"Not always," he admitted quietly.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a text. He picked it up and smiled when he noticed that it was from Nino, a simple invitation to hang out.

He didn't hesitate before responding: **Of course.**


	3. iii. Adult

Years had passed, as they always did. One year after the other, experiences and battles running their course through those spans of twelve months.

In all of those years, through some absolute miracle, Adrien had hardly slipped. Not as Adrien, not as Chat Noir. He had only gotten better at what he did as a hero, and through some absolute miracle, hadn't revealed his identity to anyone. Not only that... He was growing into his role, too. Getting used to everything that came with being there for Paris. Sometimes, he even got to take Ladybug's place, taking the lead on things. That added a little spice to the everyday routines he had come to memorize.

Not to mention that he almost-- _almost--_ got as much recognition as Ladybug did sometimes, especially when she let him take charge. Yes, things were finally starting to look up for the feline hero.

_Finally._

* * *

"... Chat Noir?"

He blinked when he heard the name being asked, and with such incredulity, too. And then he frowned, realizing just what had happened.

_He had let it slip._

Somehow, he had let his identity slip to one of his friends, though he was unsure of just how. He'd been doing and saying everything like he normally did... What had changed this time?

"Huh?"

Alya was watching him intently, her hands folded underneath her chin. "You're Chat Noir."

"Am not," he said, a mild feeling of petulance overcoming him, "what makes you say that?"

She snorted. "You just _purred_ when you saw me enter. Besides, I saw the kwami."

He frowned. "I..."

"I know you didn't mean to," she said softly, "but I also know that I'm right. So..."

His frown deepened. Ladybug had always told him to keep it a secret, there had always been the implication that if anybody was to find out his identity, disaster would happen. He kept waiting for it, but nothing seemed to come. Aside from the intense hazel gaze he was receiving from his best friend's girlfriend, that is.

"You... You aren't going to tell anyone, are you? Not in person, not on your blog...?"

She sighed a little, suddenly tempted. It _was_ rather juicy news...

"I won't, promise."

He smiled a little. "Thanks."

"Mm-hmm. Though... Having others know you're Chat Noir wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Tempting, honestly," he admitted with a small laugh, "very tempting. But..."

"Ladybug still has you under her thumb, huh?"

"I've learned to see how she sees," he corrected, "learned why she thinks it would be pretty bad if others knew. That's all it is."

Alya nodded a little. "I see."

"Now... Why did you come to see me?"

Her expression became excited suddenly. "Oh, yeah! I figured you'd enjoy this; here."

She handed him a disk, a simple circle. He raised an eyebrow as he took it.

"It's a collection of cheesy short films... The absolute cheesiest."

He laughed a little. "I'll be sure to watch it."

She smiled a little. "I... See you later, then."

He smiled at her. "See you later, Alya."


End file.
